I guess I should start at the beginning. Hello, my name is Dinah. I'm a 42 yr old single mom from North Little Rock Arkansas. I say single mom, but my only child recently flew the coop *whew*, so I guess technically, since I'm not doing daily mothering anymore, I'm just a single, 42 yr old, who also happens to be a mom. A mom who is at loose ends and cat sits for her son. Hopefully soon he will have a place of his own, so they can be reunited. I adore her, but I'm so allergic.
In the past few years I have been working out ways to live a simpler existence. I mapped out the things that were most important to me, and from the thousands of things that I came up with, I whittled it down to a doable list. I would start off by just trying to live simpler. By simpler, I mean to cut out all the keeping up with the Joneses, quit trying to impress the greater masses, stop being caught up in the electronic frenzy, and try to downsize many aspects of my life. There is a lot to be said about enjoying the moment, doing things for the pure pleasure of it, and stopping to smell the honeysuckle.
I have been a part of the green movement for several years, but I guess I am guilty of what many would consider green chic. I recycled, used reusable cloth shopping bags, changed my light bulbs to fluorescent ones, and shopped regularly at thrift shops. I attempted to mulch, I quit buying bottled water, and I donated unwanted items to charity, instead of sending them to the landfill. All good things, right? Sure, but deep down inside I knew I was not doing enough.
Now, I'm not an environmental 'nut'. I am concerned about our environment and I do think there has to be a change on a big scale, before we all end up living in a huge trash heap, but I don't preach at people about their 'earth killing ways'. Like religion, I believe the message is best delivered by example, instead of by fire and brimstone. So I decided to start doing small things to put my money where my mouth is.
My first task, riding the city bus, instead of commuting by car, 10 miles everyday. Now, I know me and I know I have good intentions, but sometimes I can be lazy and if things seem too difficult, I can abandon them in a heartbeat. So to really commit to this, I parked my car in my driveway and dropped my insurance. This would force me to ride and I couldn't fall back on the...."Oh it's raining" or "It's just too hard". Two years ago, this month, I started riding the bus and I will have to admit it's been mostly a good experience. I have met lots of interesting people, I have saved quite a bit of money, and I've made a few really good friends in the process. The downside is, that what used to be a 20 minute commute, is now an hour and a half ride. The upside, I have plenty of time to read, people watch, listen to music, meditate, or socialize. The money I saved has helped fund my entertainment. On the whole it's been a win. The only really bad thing about using public transportation is grocery shopping. If you buy like I do, groceries to last for two weeks, trying to haul all those bags can be a nightmare. Luckily, I had several friends and family members who came to my rescue. Now days it's not so much an issue. With one less mouth to feed, I find I can shop lighter and more frequently.
About a month ago I began phase two of my plan. I made a personal resolution to not buy anything new, that I could buy used. If I could not find what I needed used, I would have to rethink if that desired object was really needed. Of course a few things are exempt from this resolution. Obviously things that have to do with hygienic living would have to be new. Underwear, toothbrushes, et cetera, could be purchased new. The trick was only buy these items when absolutely necessary. In less than 24 hours, I was already attempting to cheat. See, I'm in the process of redecorating. I had recently decided on a new color scheme for my bedroom and found the perfect comforter for my bed. My budget made me hold off on that purchase for a certain paycheck. Imagine my dismay when I realized this paycheck fell five days after I had made my resolution. For a day, I considered putting off my vow for a week, so I could buy the much coveted bedding. Then I realized that I was already taking short cuts and this was not how to make improvements in my life, so I said goodbye to the perfect comforter and I have challenged myself to find something in a thrift shop that will work equally as well. I'll just have to be creative. I'm a creative person and this should be easy for me, right? Right?!!!
The second resolution I made, was to try to eat as as locally as possible. There is a new community grocery store that is opening up in Argenta on April 15th. It's main purpose is to provide a venue for locally grown and produced products. You can check them out here: http://www.argentamarket.com/ I am really excited about them opening and this is a real boon for us foodies. For quite some time I have made a concerted effort to eat as fresh and organic as possible. It's not easy and sometimes can be quite expensive. Not to mention that finding local food can be a bit like a scanvenger hunt! In the past I've depended heavily on the farmers market. This new store will give me an option I've been sorely craving.
Along with shopping at The Argenta Market, I hope to do some container gardening this year, so I can eat my own organic yield and possibly freeze and can some veggies for the winter. Now, if you knew me and my teenage history with gardening and canning, you would think I was off my nutter, but that is another story for another blog. (Yes Mom, I know you are shaking your head and thinking "She swore she would never...."
So now I've kinda clued you in on what I've been up to. The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my trials and errors in trying to live a simpler, greener, productive life. I hope that I can post things that are inexpensive and fairly easy to do, so that you guys might be inspired to at least try a few. I'm mostly writing for my friends and family, but if I gain a few readers in the blogosphere, that's all gravy.
I welcome comments, but please be gentle. Remember I'm just a woman who is trying to make difference in her own life and hoping I can nudge people to at least try to make a small difference in their own.
